Arsenal hit five past Fenerbahce in Champions League scoring spree in Istanbul

Fenerbahce (1) 2 Arsenal (3) 5

In a city of fascinating contrasts, where East meets West, Arsenal produced a magnificent attacking display to move within one win of a realistic passage into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

A remarkable first half, in which Arsenal scored three goals in 13 minutes, put the visitors in control but while Arsene Wenger will be delighted with the offensive qualities of his side, he will be concerned at the manner in which they conceded a goal in either half.

Emmanuel Adebayor gave Arsenal a 10th-minute lead, then Theo Walcott added a second soon afterwards. With the Turks in shock, the returning Abou Diaby scored a third, yet an own-goal by Mikael Silvestre offered Fenerbahce hope.

After the whirlwind first half came an impressive start to the second, with Alex Song Billong claiming Arsenal’s fourth, yet Wenger was clearly unhappy at the way the home side were able to score again, through Daniel Guiza. But Aaron Ramsey capped a fine night for Arsenal with his first goal for the club in added time.

The win leaves Arsenal on top of Group G and in the knowledge that another victory, on Guy Fawkes night at the Emirates against Fenerbahce, should be enough.

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Wenger, who celebrates his 59th birthday today, made a surprise team selection by dropping Robin van Persie to the bench and handing Diaby his first start since April. Van Persie was the victim of Wenger’s ruthless team selection, as he switched from a 4-4-1-1 formation to 4-2-3-1.

Wenger, missing Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Kolo Toure, Tomas Rosicky, Eduardo and Amaury Bischoff, brought back Walcott, after only bringing him on at half-time in the 3-1 win over Everton.

Yet any doubts about Wenger’s motives were put to rest when Arsenal scored twice in 11 stunning opening minutes and adding a third not long afterwards.

Fenerbahce began the night unbeaten in 15 European outings but Arsenal demolished that record.

In the opening exchanges, Manuel Almunia, captain in place of Gallas and Toure, had to punch clear from Ugur Boral. Arsenal’s response was almost immediate, with Adebayor squandering a chance from the edge of the area.

But in the 10th minute Arsenal took the lead, thanks to a wonderful ball from the halfway line by Cesc Fabregas. Walcott dummied the pass intelligently and Adebayor was able to score his fourth goal in Europe this season.

The goal silenced the vociferous Turks, and then they were left in shock when Walcott added a second within a minute. Again Fabregas was the provider, sending Walcott into the area and the youngster rode one challenge, sidestepped goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and finished brilliantly.

It could have been worse for Fenerbahce three minutes later when only a fine save from Demirel denied Samir Nasri a goal.

Yet, in a pulsating game, Fenerbahce soon responded. In the 19th minute, Semih Senturk and Silvestre went for a knocked-down ball and the Arsenal defender appeared to get the final touch.

Yet, in keeping with this high-octane affair, Arsenal hit back. A long ball was chased by Diaby, who took advantage of a slip by Edu, rode a challenge from Claudio Maldonado and finished in style. The game was only 22 minutes old.

Fenerbahce thought they had pulled another goal back when Guiza, once Almunia’s team-mate in Spain, slipped the ball passed the goalkeeper only to have his strike ruled out for offside.

But with Fenerbahce’s defence paper-thin, Arsenal put continued pressure on the Turks, teased and tormented by a refreshed Diaby and cajoled by the youthful zest of Walcott and Fabregas.

Yet Fenerbahce still looked capable of causing problems on the counter-attack, as displayed in two separate incidents before half-time. Alex’s clever ball sent Guiza clear, but the Spaniard delivered the effort just wide of the left post. And then Guiza’s first touch let him down, allowing Almunia to save with his body, before the Arsenal goalkeeper dived to his left to make another important stop, from Alex.

In the 49th minute more woeful defending allowed Arsenal to extend their advantage. Lugano was cautioned for a foul on Nasri and, from Fabregas’s perfectly delivered free-kick, three Turks attempted and failed to clear. The ball looped up and fell invitingly for Song who responded with a crisply struck volley.

Fenerbahce made a change with Ali Bilgin replacing Maldonado, who had endured a torrid time as a replacement for the injured Colin Kazim-Richards. They pulled another back in the 78th minute when Song failed to clear and Guiza converted. But Ramsey, 17, a late addition, capped the evening when he struck from the edge of the area.